40 Northern New Jersey Students Win National Recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

MONTCLAIR, N.J. - March 17, 2016 - PRLog -- The nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers announced the national winners of the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious award and recognition program for creative teens in grade 7-12. The Northern New Jersey region had 40 students awarded national medals from a panel of distinguished judges. The students all submitted their work to the competition through the Montclair Art Museum. The Montclair Art Museum is the sole affiliate sponsor of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in New Jersey, the eighth year MAM has served in this capacity.

This program year, a record-breaking 320,000 works of art and writing were submitted to more than 100 affiliates of the Alliance for regional adjudication. From the outstanding pool of regional Gold Key recipients, an impressive panel of creative-industry experts chose more than 2,200 of the most talented students to receive national medals. Works were judged on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal vision or voice. Teachers of national winners were also recognized with awards.

This year's 40 recipients from the Northern New Jersey District received a total of 50 awards in visual arts on the national level. Ryan Sunada-Wong of Millburn was one of only three students to receive the first-ever Herb Block Award for Editorial Cartoon. The Editorial Cartoon category, sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation, celebrates the legacy of four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Herb Block and his remarkable contribution to American history and free expression. The teen artists recognized with this award receive a $1,000 scholarship for their outstanding drawings, illustrations, or animations offering commentary on current events or political topics. Additionally Hyungjun Yoon of Washington Township received the American Visions Medal. Five works are nominated out of all regional Gold Key works across all categories as the "Best in Show" for each region; the national jurors chose the best of the five for the American Visions Medal.

Portfolio Awards are a selection of up to eight works by seniors that are judged as a unit; other awards are issued by individual artwork and students can earn more than one award. The recipients are listed below by Name, Town, and Grade:

Portfolio Silver Award (1)

Ellen Mei, Belle Mead, 12

Gold Medal (19)

Olivia Ackerman, Harrington Park, 12
Risako Arcari, New Milford, 12
Susanna Back, Demarest, 12
Sophia Cai, Princeton, 11
Hyungjin Cho, Harrington Park, 10
Hyunkey Chung, 11
Nicholas D'ornellas, Jersey City, 12
Emily Goncalves, Elizabeth, 12
Sung Eun Hong, Norwood, 12*
Sun Woo Kim, Norwood, 12**
Jane Lee, Tenafly, 12
Joo Sang Lee, 12
Annie Li, Belle Mead, 10
Alexis Narotzky, Livingston, 12
Ryan Sunada-Wong, Millburn 10***
Tammy Wei, West Windsor, 12****
Grace Yan, Belle Mead, 8
Hyungjun Yoon, Washington Township, 12*****

Silver Medal (29)

Marissa Butrico, Warren, 12
Mary Dvorsky, Piscataway, 12
Junsean Fung, Jersey City, 12
Kyra Gensinger, Tomkins Cove (NY), 11
Sung Eun Hong, Norwood, 12*
Hyun Woo Jin, Elizabeth, 12
Josh Katz, Livingston, 9
Misa Kim, Blairstown, 11
Olivia Kim, Cliffside Park, 10
Sun Woo Kim, Norwood, 12
Jessie Lin, Yardley (PA), 7
Jessalyn Lu, Morganville, 11******
Katie Maas, Piscataway, 12
Baiyi Ning, Belle Mead, 11
Lisa Park, Plainsboro, 12
Sera Park Choi, Closter, 12*******
Jerah Siegal, Mt. Laurel, 11********
Eric Svetnikov, Livingston, 12
Tammy Wei, West Windsor, 12****
Licheng Yang, New Providence, 11
Dasung Yoon, Cresskill, 7
Jonathan Yue, Princeton, 9
Ezra Yun, River Edge, 10
Lucy Zou, East Brunswick, 8


* Sung Eun Hong was awarded a Gold Medal and two Silver Medals
** Sun Woo Kim was awarded a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal
*** Ryan Sunada-Wong was awarded the Herb Block Award for Editorial Cartoon and a Gold Medal
**** Tammy Wei was awarded a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal
***** Hyungjun Yoon was awarded the American Vision Medal and a Gold Medal
****** Jessalyn Lu was awarded three Silver Medals
******* Sera Park Choi was awarded two Silver Medals
******** Jerah Siegal was awarded two Silver Medals

A complete list of the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national recipients is available: http://www.artandwriting.org/2016NationalMedalists

Since the program's founding in 1923, the Awards have fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students, including renowned alumni who have gone on to become leaders in their fields, including Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Philip Pearlstein, and Sylvia Plath. More recently, Stephen King, Richard Linklater, Zac Posen, and Lena Dunham received Scholastic Art & Writing Awards when they were teens.

"We are always astonished by the sheer energy and ingenuity of the creative work that students produce, and by their bravery in putting it into the world for feedback from arts professionals," said Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit organization that presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. "We hear from Alumnae of the program every single day that receiving a Scholastic Award is life-changing, and we are thrilled to give that opportunity to talented students from across the country again this year."

On June 2, National Gold Award-winning teens from across the country will gather in New York City to attend the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall with appearances by this year's honoree Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker and documentarian. More than 1,000 of the top Scholastic Art & Writing visual and literary works will also be on display for the public in the Art.Write.Now.2016 exhibition at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons School of Design at The New School and Pratt Institute's Pratt Manhattan Gallery in New York City from June 2 to June 12.